IP Protection Unveils Impressive Results, Unleashing New Momentum for Innovative Development

(Our Reporters Wang Qian and Deng Jian) As the 26th World Intellectual Property Day approaches, our city held a press conference on intellectual property (IP) work on April 22. Representatives from multiple departments—including the Municipal Administration for Market Regulation, the Municipal Intermediate People's Court, the Municipal People's Procuratorate, and the Municipal Public Security Bureau—jointly announced the achievements of citywide IP protection efforts, presented exemplary IP protection cases for 2025, and outlined key work priorities for 2026. This event comprehensively showcased Wuhu’s strategic framework for IP protection, characterized by "strict protection, comprehensive protection, rapid protection, and coordinated protection."

This year's National Intellectual Property Publicity Week is themed "Strengthening Intellectual Property Protection in Emerging Fields and Accelerating the Development of New Quality Productive Forces." Data released at the press conference reveals that Wuhu continues to demonstrate vibrant innovation and creativity. In 2025, the city granted a total of 12,030 patents. Of these, 3,274 were invention patents and 220 were PCT (international) applications—representing a year-on-year increase of 32.5%. As of the end of 2025, the city possessed a total of 29,077 valid invention patents and 154,814 valid registered trademarks; the number of high-value patents per 10,000 people reached 31.51, firmly securing the second-place ranking within the province. The intensity of R&D investment across the entire society reached 4.37%, ranking first in the province and among the leaders in the Yangtze River Delta region; furthermore, the number of valid invention patents per 10,000 people has ranked first in the province for 12 consecutive years, propelling the city's innovation capability to the 22nd position nationwide.

In 2025, Wuhu continued to deepen its comprehensive, end-to-end protection of intellectual property rights. Regarding administrative protection, the city's market regulatory authorities investigated and penalized 191 cases of IP infringement throughout the year; they also handled 19 patent infringement disputes, provided rights-protection assistance in 33 cases, and mediated 133 IP-related disputes. Notably, one case was selected as a "Typical Case of Trade Secret Infringement" by the State Administration for Market Regulation, while five cases were recognized as "Typical Cases of IP Protection" at the provincial level. Regarding judicial protection—covering the period from 2023 to 2025—courts across the city accepted a total of 2,512 IP-related cases of various types, concluding 2,460 of them for a case-closure rate of 97.9%. During this same period, the city's procuratorial organs accepted 24 cases involving 50 individuals suspected of IP-related crimes for review and prosecution; the cases concluded involved a total value of 30.530772 million RMB, helping enterprises recover economic losses amounting to 7.622007 million RMB. Furthermore, the city's public security organs focused their efforts on dismantling the entire criminal chain behind infringement and counterfeiting activities, successfully solving numerous major cases characterized by their cross-regional scope and organized nature. Among these, the case involving Wang Mouwen—investigated by the city's police force for trade secret infringement—was selected as a "Typical Case of Criminal IP Protection" by the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate; this case marked the first instance in the province involving the infringement of trade secrets through mere possession.

Collaborative protection mechanisms continue to be refined. Wuhu has taken the lead within the province in pioneering an innovative "one-stop" service mechanism for intellectual property (IP) protection. The Municipal Procuratorate, the Municipal Administration for Market Regulation, and the Municipal Intermediate People's Court have jointly appointed 30 experts from diverse fields to establish a unified "technical think tank" comprising technical investigators for IP protection. This initiative deepens mechanisms for collaboration between government agencies and the courts, between administrative bodies and procuratorial authorities, and between administrative enforcement and criminal justice. By promoting the alignment of administrative enforcement standards and evidentiary rules with judicial adjudication criteria, the city has constructed a comprehensive, cross-departmental, and cross-regional framework for IP protection.

During the press conference, a selection of 12 exemplary intellectual property protection cases for 2025 was simultaneously released. These cases span four major categories—judicial litigation, prosecutorial oversight, criminal protection, and administrative protection—and encompass various fields such as trademark rights, copyrights, patent rights, and geographical indications, thereby comprehensively showcasing the practical achievements of Wuhu’s judicial and law enforcement efforts in intellectual property protection.

It is reported that in 2026, our city will focus its efforts on five key areas: strengthening the legal framework for intellectual property (IP) protection; implementing full-chain protection; fostering collaborative protection; enhancing the provision of rapid protection services; and cultivating a supportive environment for IP protection. By continuously refining the IP protection system—particularly within emerging sectors—the city aims to leverage high-standard IP protection to safeguard and facilitate the development of new quality productive forces.

Translated by Chen Xinyue from Jinning Foreign Affairs Services of Anhui Province Co.,Ltd